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Friday, March 31, 2017

Fine Feathered Friends

By Judi Kauffman for
Quietfire Design

Thanks for inviting me back as today’s guest designer,
Suzanne! It’s always a treat to be here on the Quietfire Design blog.

My projects celebrate friendship. In each case, the
sentiment expressed on the front can be continued with a handwritten note
inside. And in each case, it would be easy to customize the card by switching
to a different sentiment.

‘Together’ can lead to memories of a road trip or send
anniversary greetings to a couple or one’s own spouse.‘Because’ can say ‘…you matter,’ ‘…you always
listen,’ or ‘…you make me laugh!’

I used die cut Shimmer Sheetz feathers, a diamond-pattern
rectangle, and a color palette reminiscent of the desert to give the cards a
Southwest feel.

3. Die cut the Diamond Background twice from pale blue
cardstock backed with double-sided adhesive sheet. Poke all of the small pieces
out of the holes in one of the background rectangles and set aside the pieces.
(Some will be used in step 9, keep the rest for other projects). Leave all of the
pieces in place for the other rectangle and center it on the top-fold card
base.

4. Alter 5.25” x 4” and 2” x 3” pieces of white cardstock
with Color Burst pigments and a bit of water. Air dry or speed the drying with
a heat tool.

5. Back the open rectangle from step 3 with the larger piece
of altered cardstock from step 4. (Trim away a sliver on all sides to ensure
that it doesn’t peek out around the edges.)

Reminder: A metal adaptor plate or Big Shot machine with
Precision Base Plate is REQUIRED for die cutting Shimmer Sheetz. Review Els van
de Burgt’s YouTube tutorial if you are new to this technique.

7. Die cut six Shimmer Sheetz feathers for the ‘Because’
card (two Light Blue Iridescent, two Fire Opal Gemstone, two Black Iridescent,
using all 3 dies in the set and mixing the colors among the dies).

8. Die cut one Light Blue Iridescent Shimmer Sheetz feather
for the ‘Together’ card. Carefully cut toward the shaft of the feather at an
angle from both sides to create a more realistic, detailed feather as shown in
the photo below.

9. Complete the cards per the project photos at the start of
this post. Use foam tape under the rectangle at the center of the ‘Because’
card to add dimension and provide a space to overlap and tuck the shafts of the
feathers. Accent both cards with some of the adhesive-backed leftover pieces
from step 3.